The Enlightenment has many meanings, but at its core was a cultural movement by intellectuals in the 18th century. It had a range of new ideas based on reason coming about that were mostly accepted by society without punishment, and these ideas had a large effect on how today’s society works. For example, John Locke’s “life, liberty, and property” philosophy was worked into the United States Constitution, and the idea of separation of church and state was introduced during the Enlightenment. Although there were pioneers of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, Isaac Newton from England was a representation of what the Enlightenment was about and one of the most influential people involved, as he created many subjects and concepts students learn
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Perhaps his most famous and well-known discovery is his theory on gravity. He discusses gravity and his laws of motion in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, and his findings have inspired physics scholars since and become an integral part of learning any physics. In his letter to Newton, David Gregory also commemorates Newton’s physics discoveries, stating that he admires Newton’s ‘application…to the physicks [sic].’ Gregory was also an astronomer, a subject usually associated with physics, so he not only admired Newton’s work in math but his other field of study. Mac Laurin also studied astronomy, so he viewed Newton similarly to Gregory. James Gregory was also inspired by Newton, as he taught Newtonian physics at the University of Edinburgh. Newton also developed the first telescope and the visible spectrum of light, which are also used in teaching not only physics but also chemistry. In Newton’s laboratory journal, he discusses his discovery of the prism and that ‘the rays reflected from Leafe Gold are yellow but those transmitted are blew [sic], as appears by holding a leafe of Gold….’ This section of his laboratory journal highlight the beginnings of his optics discovery, which became another one of his most well-known ideas. Along with his theories in physics and optics, Isaac Newton made discoveries regarding gems and magnets. When discussing his discoveries that dealt with magnets, Newton incorporated his math, as he says, ‘A needle placed on the magnet (or rubbed) parallely [sic] to its equator will not acquire any verticity nor will two needles in y⁺ position to y ᵉ magnet attract….’ In his notes on the Principia, Newton also uses the y’s to prove his mathematical hypotheses. Overall, Newton made discoveries in various fields of science, and his contributions to the subject has been important for centuries, proving he
Perhaps his most famous and well-known discovery is his theory on gravity. He discusses gravity and his laws of motion in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, and his findings have inspired physics scholars since and become an integral part of learning any physics. In his letter to Newton, David Gregory also commemorates Newton’s physics discoveries, stating that he admires Newton’s ‘application…to the physicks [sic].’ Gregory was also an astronomer, a subject usually associated with physics, so he not only admired Newton’s work in math but his other field of study. Mac Laurin also studied astronomy, so he viewed Newton similarly to Gregory. James Gregory was also inspired by Newton, as he taught Newtonian physics at the University of Edinburgh. Newton also developed the first telescope and the visible spectrum of light, which are also used in teaching not only physics but also chemistry. In Newton’s laboratory journal, he discusses his discovery of the prism and that ‘the rays reflected from Leafe Gold are yellow but those transmitted are blew [sic], as appears by holding a leafe of Gold….’ This section of his laboratory journal highlight the beginnings of his optics discovery, which became another one of his most well-known ideas. Along with his theories in physics and optics, Isaac Newton made discoveries regarding gems and magnets. When discussing his discoveries that dealt with magnets, Newton incorporated his math, as he says, ‘A needle placed on the magnet (or rubbed) parallely [sic] to its equator will not acquire any verticity nor will two needles in y⁺ position to y ᵉ magnet attract….’ In his notes on the Principia, Newton also uses the y’s to prove his mathematical hypotheses. Overall, Newton made discoveries in various fields of science, and his contributions to the subject has been important for centuries, proving he